A newspaper based in Delaware County, N.Y. sued county officials in December, claiming they unlawfully canceled its public notice contract in retaliation for unfavorable news coverage. The Reporter, a weekly newspaper based in the county seat of Delhi, also alleges the county violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments by ordering its employees to refer all questions from the paper to the county attorney’s office.
The lawsuit was filed in federal court by Decker Advertising, the agency that owns The Reporter.
Is New York the Wild West of public notice?
The New York Times reported last month on several incidents in which public officials revoked public notice contracts “in an effort to punish their hometown newspapers for aggressive coverage of local politics.” The story included two recent cases in New York state.
New York isn’t the only place where public officials sometimes seek to retaliate against those they perceive as enemies. But the state’s folkways and traditions, along with its arcane and antiquated public notice statutes, often result in the chaotic administration of the law.